As always, we here at West Philly Local aim to keep neighbors abreast of community news and inform you of updates to that news. For today’s installment of updates, we’ve rounded up news about three big projects we’ve featured in the last three months that verge from the exciting (tacos!) to the conflicting (another expensive development!). And, of course, if there are other updates you’d love to know, we’d love to hear them in the comments.

Groundbreaking for Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral’s $110 Million Development

Photo by West Philly Local.

Tomorrow, Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral and Radnor Property Group (RPG) will hold a groundbreaking for 38Chestnut—the $110 million mixed-used development at 38^th and Chestnut Streets that will see the razing of two historic brownstones (pictured) formerly used as the Cathedral’s parish house. The demolition will make way for a three-prong 326,000 square-foot project (owned by 3737 Chestnut, LP and developed by RPG) to be completed in 2015, and will include the construction of an allegedly “state-of-the-art” 25-story apartment building targeting professionals and grad students, as well as the Episcopal Cathedral Center that features a three-story office building with ground floor retail, a community center, and an early-learning childcare center. Additionally, as part of a settlement with the Preservation Alliance, the development will also see the renovation and maintenance of the cathedral itself. The groundbreaking starts at 2 p.m. at the Cathedral, located at 13-19 South 38th Street.

As we reported in November, the demolition to the two 19th-century brownstones has been nothing but contentious since it made news last summer. In an 8-2 vote, the Philadelphia Historical Commission approved the Cathedral’s hardship application to bulldoze the two historically-sanctioned houses, which were on the list of Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. The Preservation Alliance appealed this decision almost immediately, but came to an agreement with the Commission in March, in which a 50-year preservation and restoration plan is implemented and maintained by the Cathedral, with project funds set aside for immediate work on the house of worship.  Continue Reading

There are some spots still open for this great free event, where you can learn how to make your home more cozy for the winter. Many of the materials demonstrated are given away to participants in tonight’s Weatherization workshop (see details below) free of charge. The workshop is presented by the West Philly Tool Library in partnership with the Energy Coordinating Agency, who will teach you how to weatherize your home and save money on your energy bills. Participants will also receive kits to take home to weatherize their own homes.

What: Weatherization Workshop
When: Wednesday, Dec. 4, 6:30 p.m.
Where: West Philadelphia YMCA, 5120 Chestnut Street

To sign up, click here.

The University of Pennsylvania’s community outreach office is hosting a community meeting on Thursday morning, Dec. 5, to discuss public school initiatives, including its program at the Henry C. Lea School (47th and Locust).

The meeting will run from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Walnut Street West Library (40th and Walnut). Representatives of Penn’s Graduate School of Education, Lea School University Partnership and Netter Center for Community Partnerships will be there to talk about their programs.

Thursday’s meeting is part of the regular First Thursday Community Meeting series that Penn routinely hosts.

Click to enlarge.

Here’s a chance to recycle your old computers, TVs, CD and DVD players, maybe even a VCR – basically anything with a plug (except for large appliances). Bring them to Saunders Park (39th and Powelton) on Thursday, Dec. 5 from 9 a.m. to Noon.

The recycling service is free to everyone in the community, including businesses. The recyclers (eForce Compliance) say they will wipe clean or destroy all data.

The People’s Emergency Center and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center are sponsoring the event.

On Sunday, Dec. 1, there will be a great opportunity to wind down your Thanksgiving weekend and learn more about other cultures at the 18th annual “Peace Around the World: Passport to Cultures” event at Penn Museum (3260 South St). This is a free event for the whole family. Visitors will receive museum “passports” with itineraries to visit different cultures (Brazilian, Cameroonian, Indian, Kenyan, Pakistani and more) and explore their holiday traditions.

The event includes a wide array of activities, such as dance, storytelling, sari-wrapping, yoga sessions, Middle Eastern drumming workshops, face painting and balloon art for children, and international family crafts. And of course, there will be free treats for children!

The event will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. and guests are also invited to bring a new, unwrapped toy donation that will go to a West Philadelphia charity. For more information about this event and schedule of activities, visit this page.

(Photo courtesy of Penn Museum)

Editor’s Note: West Philly Local is proud to present the fourth in a series of vignettes of local block captains drawn from Them That Do, a multimedia documentary project and community blog by West Philly-based award-winning photographer Lori Waselchuk. Check Them That Do for more information, updates and additional photos.

Juanita Lewis Hatton / Photo by Lori Waselchuk.

Juanita Lewis Hatton leans over the thick black back-support belt, noisily adjusting the Velcro clasp. “Oh God!” she says. “I suffer with this back pain. It’s not as bad as yesterday, mind you,” she tells me.

Ms. Hatton was preparing to step outside and distribute her monthly newsletter door-to-door for the residents of the 3900 block of Poplar St, where she is the block captain. She lives on a street peppered with vacant lots, abandoned buildings and dilapidated homes. Yet the street has no visible trash and the grass in vacant lots is cut.

Hatton moved into her two-story row home on Poplar St. in 2009. Within the first week of moving in, she swept as if it was an obvious thing to do. The neighbors were intrigued. They questioned the 72-year-old grandmother to find out which government agency she worked for.

Hatton’s answer: “I don’t work for the city. I just don’t like livin’ around dirt!”

Hatton has been a block captain for over a total of 38 years. Most of those years she served her former block in Nicetown where she became known as the ‘Granny of Nicetown’. She rallied her neighbors to board up abandoned houses, organized neighborhood watches, planned summer festivals and flea markets, connected civic and health resources to the community and she spearheaded the rehabilitation of Nicetown Park on Germantown Avenue. Continue Reading